News

£12.3m pothole cash fund for Somerset

MAJOR routes across Chard and Ilminster could be in line for part of a £12.3million pothole cash fund.

Somerset County Council made a bid to Government for a share of £183.5m set aside for road repairs and has been awarded £12,335,841 – the largest share for any council in the South-West.

The money will be used for repairing damage caused by the wettest winter on record, including rebuilding roads and filling in potholes.

It may also allow the county council to invest in long-term flood resilience measures as proposed in the Flood Action Plan to help keep key roads open for longer.

County council Leader Cllr John Osman (pictured) said: “The endless rain and floods of this winter have had a major impact on all our roads. Although most have now re-opened, the damage left behind is plain to see.

“In Somerset we’ve suffered as much as anywhere and this announcement of extra Government support is really welcome news. We’ll now look carefully at exactly what needs to be done to make sure this money goes where it is most needed.”

Last week’s Budget also included a further £168million to tackle potholes on England’s roads and the county council will also be bidding for a share of this.

Comments (1)

I phoned the council a couple of weeks ago to report all the holes and damage on the A358 between Chard and Donyatt by the laybye and was told they could do nothing without a postcode. I asked the animals in the fields, but they were unable or unwilling to tell me !

I phoned the council a couple of weeks ago to report all the holes and damage on the A358 between Chard and Donyatt by the laybye and was told they could do nothing without a postcode. I asked the animals in the fields, but they were unable or unwilling to tell me !MrAngryOfChard